


Work It Out

by Raine_Wynd



Category: Pacific Rim (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Arguing, Chuck Hansen Lives, Chuck Lives, Disabled Character, Drama, Established Relationship, FanWorks Con 2019 Zine, Foul Language, Hansen Family Feels, Inspired by Music, Light Angst, M/M, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Romance, Swearing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-02
Updated: 2019-09-02
Packaged: 2020-10-05 06:20:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,042
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20484275
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Raine_Wynd/pseuds/Raine_Wynd
Summary: Chuck and Raleigh have a difference of opinion.





	Work It Out

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the 2019 FanWorks Convention zine; it was so awesome to be a part of an amazing, first-year convention and have my work with so many other talented artists, podficcers, and vidders.
> 
> Partly inspired by Def Leppard's "Work It Out."

_May 2027_

Herc eased himself onto the lookout deck. It had been a while since he’d climbed the steep ladder up to the highest point in the Shatterdome. It was primarily a location for some of the long-range surveillance equipment, but the design had included enough space for two people to sit, provided they didn’t mind the dizzying height. With the average height of a jaeger at 280 feet, Shatterdomes had been built accordingly.

As he’d expected, Herc found Raleigh there, leaning against the railing and staring out at the night.

“My son’s going bonkers trying to figure out why the fuck you’re up here and not down in his room.”

“Had to get out,” Raleigh said flatly. “Woke up screaming.”

Herc let out a careful breath. PTSD was worse for jaeger pilots because the shared neural load meant twice the intensity; for those pilots who’d shared a deep bond, the nightmares might as well be in IMAX. Mandatory post-kaiju-kill therapy sessions were a standard part of the debriefing process, but it had been two years since the Breach had been closed. The ‘dome still maintained its own medical clinic, primarily because they were still working on jaegers (though ones half the size of their predecessors) and K-science and accidents happened, but the mental health staff had been reduced in number.

“Want to talk about it?” Herc ventured. Herc’s extensive experience as a jaeger pilot meant he knew precisely just how bad a severed neural connection could be; some of the early drift experiments he’d been involved in had nearly killed him. As if his own experiences and imagination weren’t enough, thanks to his position as Stacker’s right-hand man, Herc had the full briefing on what Raleigh had gone through. He would not insult Raleigh’s intelligence by pretending he didn’t know.

“Not really, no.” Raleigh sighed.

Herc waited, looking at Raleigh pointedly.

Raleigh sighed again, then added, “Last time I was in LA, Yancy and I fought what was then the largest Category III kaiju to come out of the breach. It was our first mission; we were teamed up with another jaeger and wound up taking point. The conn-pod got so soaked with kaiju blood it almost ate through the shielding before we could get hosed down. I dreamed that it did.”

Herc shuddered. “You had the first-gen armor plating; your experience was what helped upgrade Lucky Seven’s. Even then, we were still learning.”

Raleigh nodded. “I forget sometimes you’ve piloted them all.”

Herc laughed dryly. “I got lucky that the first Mark I they put me in was one of the last built, and it had to meet Australian standards for radiation shielding, which meant–”

“It had more than Coyote Tango,” Raleigh finished.

Herc nodded. “For a while there, I’d wake up convinced I’d wind up just like all the other Mark I pilots.”

Raleigh eyed him. “You wouldn’t hide it like Marshal Pentecost did if you were sick.”

“Not my style, and Chuck would’ve made damn sure I didn’t pilot with him if I had the same cancer. Chuck only wanted to pilot with the best, and he kept me on my toes trying to keep up. I never wanted to die in a jaeger, either, like Stacker did.” Herc favored Raleigh with a smile. “Sorry, but you’re gonna have to deal with me for a long time yet. I’m cancer-free and plan on staying that way.”

Raleigh laughed briefly.

“Which also means I get to be the one to remind you that what you dreamed of didn’t happen, and you’re still more or less in one piece. “

“Yeah,” Raleigh agreed quietly. “Just… I can’t talk to Chuck like when I’m like this. He’s too intense and I get angry. I don’t want to fight him, because I’d kick his ass and I’d hate myself for doing it.” Raleigh took a breath before adding, “I never wanted to solve relationship problems with violence. That’s not how I was raised. Fighting because someone insulted you or your family – that’s different.”

Herc smiled briefly at the qualifier. “Has he been causing problems?”

“He hates feeling helpless, especially since he feels he has to prove he’s just as physically capable as he was before we closed the Breach. You know that,” Raleigh said, turning away from the expanse of ocean to face Herc. “And Chuck’s solution for that sort of situation is to cuddle Max or take him and Ian for a run, and that’s never really worked for me, much as he’d like it to. We wind up arguing, and that’s the last thing I need.”

Herc made a noise of agreement. “I’ll talk to him about that.” He studied the younger man a moment. “Did you sleep at all when we were in LA?”

Raleigh shook his head. “No, probably why this one hit me so hard.”

“Anything else I can do to help?”

“Thanks, but no.”

“You gonna come down anytime soon?”

Raleigh sighed. “Might as well. Gonna rain soon, and I haven’t eaten since we were on the plane.” He and Herc had been sent to Los Angeles to visit Oblivion Bay. Herc had tried to get them out of it, knowing it would only give them flashbacks and old grief. The PPDC oversight committee had insisted the goodwill was worth it; there were jaeger parts to be had. Herc suspected someone was advocating for a new – or nearly new – jaeger to be built.

“I told you to eat more,” Herc growled, hating the fact he’d had to order Raleigh to go with him.

Raleigh favored him with a slight smile. “And I told you I wasn’t hungry.” The tone of Raleigh’s voice told Herc he knew Herc was trying to parent him, and he was amused by it.

Raleigh took the lead down the access hatch and descended the ladder with the speed of long practice. Herc secured the access hatch before following Raleigh downward at a more cautious pace, not wanting to fall eighteen feet. The rest of the way was via an elevator that connected to the ground floor of the jaeger launch bay.

Chuck waited for them, one hand braced on his giant mutt of a service dog, Ian. The last-second escape pod launch had shattered multiple bones; Chuck would never walk again unassisted. Max waited beside Ian. “You scared me,” Chuck said accusingly.

“Told you before I’d have days like this,” Raleigh replied evenly. “You didn’t believe me.”

Chuck said something else, but Herc cut him off. “Raleigh, go eat something. I swear I can hear your stomach growling. Don’t go anywhere that’s not the mess hall. Chuck, shut up and back off for a little while longer.”

Raleigh shot Herc a grateful look and made his escape. Chuck made a move to follow, but Herc stepped in his way. “I said, leave him be.”

“Get out of my way,” Chuck growled.

“No. Raleigh needs space right now.” Herc watched as his son absorbed his words. “He’s had to learn how to cope with no one around, and that’s what he’s used to doing, Chuck. It doesn’t mean he won’t reach out eventually; it just means he can’t take your intense desire to fix what’s wrong.”

“Damn it, old man, what the fuck am I supposed to? He’s hurting and he goes up there and makes me think he’s gonna do something stupid –”

“If you don’t know Raleigh Becket’s too stubborn to give up on living, you haven’t been paying attention,” Herc snapped, annoyed that his son couldn’t see that fact. “And he’s stubborn enough to keep on loving you even when you’re pressing him to do something he can’t handle.”

Chuck’s breath caught on that, and he took a moment to find the right words. “I’m just trying to offer him options.”

“You’re trying to fix a man who doesn’t need your coping strategies; he has his own. Damn it, Chuck, I know you love him, but back the fuck off. He went where you can’t follow so he could unwind his head in peace.”

“Oh.” Chuck’s eyes narrowed. “Why the fuck couldn’t he just say so?”

“Because you weren’t listening the first time he said it,” Herc shot back. “Now if you want to help him, go take the dogs out, burn off that fire sitting in your belly. I’ll let Raleigh know to expect you back in your quarters in an hour.”

Chuck protested again but subsided at the glare Herc gave him. “Don’t make the mistake of assuming Raleigh’s not annoyed with you,” Herc warned. “Just because he doesn’t scream and shout doesn’t mean he’s not upset.”

Chuck sighed. “Yeah, I got that message.” He took up the slack in Max’s leash before taking a firm grip on his service dog’s handle and moving away from the service elevator.

* * *

Despite rumors to the contrary, Chuck wasn’t a virgin nor inexperienced with relationships. He’d had done nothing with anyone since he was seventeen, having decided that relationships were too distracting, and his time was better served becoming a better pilot or making repairs to Striker Eureka. Being with Raleigh, though, was nothing like Chuck had ever experienced. Chuck had never been a friend with his lover before. It meant that Chuck wanted desperately not to lose that friendship. It also meant that Raleigh had been careful in his pursuit.

Still, Chuck felt awkward and inept, and he hated it. Raleigh was one of the strongest men Chuck knew. It was altogether too easy to forget that Raleigh had PTSD because he could go for months without having flashbacks. Until they’d slept together, Chuck hadn’t known that Raleigh suffered from bouts of insomnia and claustrophobia. Nor had he expected just how the trip to LA would affect Raleigh. For Chuck, many of the older jaegers in Oblivion Bay were names and stats, with some being a vague memory of having met their pilots in passing and been treated like the junior fan he’d been. Raleigh had known some of those pilots, fought alongside those jaegers.

It seemed like forever before Raleigh showed up in Chuck’s room. Chuck had almost given up, but he’d agreed to give his boyfriend space, and he would not go back on his word.

“Hey.”

Raleigh smiled briefly at that, but he didn’t move to greet Chuck with a kiss.

Chuck narrowed his gaze. “Next time I’m in your space like that, shove back, alright? Won’t be the first time, probably won’t be the last, you’ll need to kick my ass until I listen.”

Raleigh half-chuckled. “That’s the point, Chuck. I don’t want to hit you, not when I’m in that headspace.”

“So, get the old man or Mako, just don’t…” Chuck took a deep breath and let it out. “Don’t leave me feeling like you’re done with me. With us.”

Raleigh closed the distance between them, and kissed him, hard. “Not gonna happen. I might have scrambled brains, but I love you and want to be with you. I just…need space sometimes.”

Chuck pressed closer still. “I thought I was supposed to be the one who can’t talk,” he teased.

Raleigh took Chuck’s weight and smiled. “Yeah, well. Didn’t anyone ever tell you that jaeger pilots were shitty at communicating with anyone who wasn’t their copilot or LOCCENT?”

Chuck laughed. “Only once or twice.” He kissed Raleigh. Moved by the urge to be tender, he took his time, wanting to linger when he’d ordinarily be in a hurry. Feeling Raleigh’s surprise, Chuck pulled back.

“What? I can’t take my time?”

Raleigh chuckled. “Sure, when you want something.”

Insulted by the implication, Chuck said something cutting, then stopped when he read the look on his boyfriend’s face. “And if I said I wanted to kiss you until we both forgot there’s a world outside?”

“I might be persuaded,” Raleigh allowed, smirking, and leaned in to kiss him. Later, Raleigh would make sure they talked it out more, but for now, he wanted everything his lover could give him to chase away the lingering remnants of a nightmare. As always, passion flared easily between them, and Raleigh savored the feeling, loving the way their love burned away the rest of the world. He hoped it always would.

**Author's Note:**

> Comments and kudos always welcome - even when this fic is "old" and I've forgotten I wrote it, heh. If you're going to leave a comment full of hate, please hit the back button or go away. I don't mind constructive criticism, but let's not hate. Thanks! :-)


End file.
